Who Should I Start? Pat Freiermuth or Quentin Johnston

Friday, October 17, 12:29 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught four of his five targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns during Thursday's Week 7 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. His touchdowns came on 19-yard and 68-yard receptions, the latter of which gave Pittsburgh a late lead (that they would ultimately relinquish). Freiermuth had not yet posted a fantasy performance with more than 6.1 fantasy points this season (PPR), so Thursday's breakout was admittedly unexpected. It should give fantasy managers optimism moving forward, but there's no denying that the 26-year-old continues to face competition at the tight end position. Fellow tight ends Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington each scored touchdowns on Thursday night, too, offering Aaron Rodgers plenty of options when he's looking to target big, physical receivers in the passing game. As a result, managers should view Freiermuth as a low-end TE2 for Week 8.

Friday, October 17, 6:23 PM

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston (hamstring) is trending towards playing after missing last week due to a hamstring injury, logging a full practice on Friday. When healthy, Johnston has been productive, averaging 75.4 yards per game with 26 catches, 377 yards, and four touchdowns so far this season, with a 50% deep target rate. He now faces a weak Indianapolis Colts defense that ranks 22nd in Opponent Passing Yards per Game and has a banged-up secondary, which favors his downfield targets. Although his recent injury may have caused his ranking to decline, the high-scoring nature of this game should keep him heavily involved, especially in the red zone. RotoBaller projects Johnston as WR26 this week. If he is active, he should be considered a high-risk, high-reward WR3.